Planting a Paradise
by linkenlog
Summary: Ten years after the island's most infamous garden disaster, Avalon Pendragonache signs a land deed and is launched headfirst into another family's unresolved trauma. All she wanted was to peacefully garden...
1. Chapter 1

**(AN) Hey. It's me, Lizzie. It's been a while. I've been cursed with insomnia and decided to be productive with it... so I wanted to write some fanfiction for my favourite game and tell my OCs story my way. **

'What on earth am I doing,' Thought Avalon Pendragonache the moment she set eyes on the plot of land in front of her.

She had, due to recent events, decided her life needed a complete 180 degree turn. She needed out of that horrible crowded city with its fake people. She needed to be as far away as possible from her family home. She needed to do _something_ with her life that wasn't keeping up appearances with people she could barely stand to be around.

A week ago she had noticed the advert at the back of a newspaper left at the table of her favourite cafe. Just a small plea, a plot of land for sale in a tiny village. And Avalon was desperate enough for an escape. Desperate enough to wake with the sun, pack her worldly possessions, and take the first train out of the city. The train plunged deeper into the countryside as the sun rose higher in the sky. Skyscrapers gave way to high rises - gave way to low rises - gave way to no rises at all. Soon most buildings were one story cottages here and there, and Avalon began to feel nervous. She had lived in the city for so long that the open sky unnerved her. And how could she live without late night sushi delivered to her apartment? She already felt regret bubbling up in her soul…

She got out at the very last stop of the train, going to the back of the carriage to fetch her one pinata she brought from her old life. Hemlock nervously but obediently followed the helper in charge of keeping things running right and timely on the train. He cheered up immensely as soon as he saw his favourite person in the world, and shook off the nervousness of being stuck in a little metal tube all morning with no hay OR apples! Avalon quickly threw her saddle over him, her bag full of her things, and lately herself onto his back (in that order).

Avalon felt that pit of regret dig deeper as Hemlock clip clopped through the town square. Or what remained of it. On first glance, most of the buildings in this dismal little village were boarded up and had weeds overtaking them. Avalon hadn't expected this village to be a ghost town…

'I guess even normal hours sushi isn't a thing here…' Avalon grumbled under her breath as they passed a fountain that looked like it hadn't held water in a decade.

Hemlock wasn't sure what sushi was, so he made a little horse huff because he at least knew his favourite person was upset.

'Let's hope this so called garden isn't a reflection of what the town looks like…' Avalon clenched her jaw as they followed a little road that was more hole than road. She instinctually glanced up the path to see where it was meandering, and felt a jolt of panic. She instantly dismounted Hemlock and pulled him along with her. She knew that if she stayed on his back, she would have turned him right back around and fled this horrible place. She approached the garden in a daze.

What Avalon had expected was an empty lot filled with grass. Maybe a bush or a tree. Some pure, untouched land left fallow that she could muck about in and work through the many thoughts buzzing around her head.

What she DIDN'T expect was…. this junkyard. It was a good sized plot of land but absolutely littered with the remains of pinata houses and garden decorations. The soil was cracked and uneven, and what grass did grow looked scrubby and full of weeds. For a moment she wondered if this was some sort of joke, that she had been tricked into being a trash collector.

'Oh, hello!'

Avalon was ripped from her thoughts full of regret as a young woman about her own height bounded out of the charming little tree house by the garden's border. She stuck a hand out to shake and beamed 'I'm Leafos. Thank you so much for coming!'

'Err, Avalon Pendragonache,' Said Avalon as she hesitantly shook Leafos' hand, her gaze drifting back to her biggest recent mistake. How on earth was that Barkbark house _upside-down!?_

'Pendragonache?' Leafos mumbled and tapped her lips with a finger as she thought. 'That name sounds familiar…'

'Oh, we're a very old family,' Avalon found herself blurting out. It'd be easier to get this out of the way first… 'We focus on racing pinatas, maybe you've seen the name there?'

Leafos frowned and thought to herself for a few moments, obviously not convinced that was where she heard Avalon's family name. But she quickly shook it off.

'I'll have to try to remember later. What's important is you're here now! We've been trying for ages to get someone to take care of our old garden… Sorry you had to see the place like this...' Leafos sighs as she limply gestures to what used to be the greatest garden on the island.

'I wish... you were a little more honest in the advertisement,' said Avalon, looking at what was now the biggest junk pile on the island.

'Well, we were for years, but there's some sort of… well, there's a lot of rumours about this garden-' Leafos jumped a little and waved her hands at Avalon urgently. 'Not-not that any of those are true!'

'You mean the rumour that this land is cursed, right?' Avalon crossed her arms and stared Leafos down.

The downfall of Jardiniero and the destruction of both his land and his family was infamous across the island. It signaled the end of an era, the years of peaceful gardening were over. The Island's most charismatic villain cut his teeth on this first plot and had been nothing but insufferable ever since.

'Which is completely false!' Leafos took a step back, wilting a little under Avalon's glare. 'Believe me! We had so many years of happiness before that happened! It wouldn't make sense for a curse to wait that long!'

Avalon didn't know enough about curses to know if Leafos was telling the truth or not, so she just stared Leafos down for a few tense moments before sighing and burying her mask in her hand. 'Curse or no curse, I've attached my name to the land deed, and something tells me you won't let me back out of it.'

A smile flashed across Leafos' face and she chirped 'Absolutely not! At least try working on it for a few days, I have a feeling you'll have fun before you know it!'

Avalon frowned at Leafos for a few seconds. Leafos looked so sweet and earnest, it was hard to try to resent her.

'If you call hauling junk away 'fun',' Avalon grumbled, and a flicker of…. some unnamable emotion flickered across Leafos' mask. But Avalon was too busy staring at the garden, sizing up how monumental of a task this was going to be.

'Avalon, have you had lunch yet!?' Leafos said, suddenly changing the subject. 'I can make us all sandwiches and I can show you the basics of what to do in the garden!'

'Oh, uh...' said Avalon as she looked behind her at her favourite Horstachio, who had been waiting obediently several paces behind Avalon this entire time. His name was Hemlock and was a very attractive deep purple variant. His saddle was festooned with a thick covering of medals from all the races he had won (and Ponockies destroyed)

'Is there anywhere I could keep my Horstachio?' Asked Avalon. 'I was hoping that I could just let him loose in the garden, but I have a feeling he wouldn't last five minutes in there.'

Leafos stared over Avalon, in awe of the colour and build of Hemlock. She made a mental note to ask Avalon if she could draw him later. The way he held himself was so jaunty... 'We use that big purple barn over there as kind of a communal barn for everyone in the village. You can keep him in there until your garden is under way. He'll be safe and warm!'

Avalon nodded approvingly at how purple the barn was.

'Oh, I should also bring my stuff to the inn while I'm at it,' said Avalon as she started to pull a very heavy looking bag off her Horstachio. It had cost Avalon a surprising amount of money because of the clever enchantment on it. It was bewitched to hold several times over what a normal bag that size could hold. Unfortunately, it did not also have a secondary enchantment to make it feel like it wasn't holding a 24 year old woman's every earthly possession.

Good thing Avalon was strong.

'Wait, you're going to stay at the inn?' Leafos was suddenly at Avalon's side, grabbing onto the other end of the bag. 'Oh no, you can't stay there, it's much too loud! Everyone stays up late drinking and carrying on, you'd have to walk a long way in the dark, board isn't included in the room fee… what I mean is, you're staying with us!'

Avalon protested, but Leafos held firm. 'We have so much space, it really wouldn't be any trouble at all!'

Avalon could tell that arguing against Leafos was hopeless, and quickly gave up. She had spent the entire first half of her day traveling from the big city, fretting and mildly regretting her drastic life change, and didn't have the energy to do much else.

'It won't be for long,' Avalon said as she lugged her bag full of most of her worldly possessions towards Leafos' house. 'I'm having a little house built for me close by.' She said with a hint of finality.

'You're welcome to stay as long as you like!' Leafos said cheerfully as she held the door open for Avalon. She was impressed by how casually Avalon carried that bag! 'It's been really lonely around here since...' she shook her head '... anyway, it'd be nice to hear someone else's voice around the house!'

Avalon was relieved to find that she didn't have to crouch to enter the house. She was so used to having to duck to avoid doorways in smaller buildings so she immediately felt comfortable.

'Welcome to your temporary new home!' Leafos said as she gestured around the living room.

Avalon was immediately overwhelmed with nostalgia that wasn't her own. A recessed area by the door held gardening boots and a very disused shovel, which Avalon found odd because Leafos seemed the type of person who wouldn't wear anything on her feet. The room was filled with several worn couches and chairs, more than just Leafos and Jardiniero would need. The walls were cluttered with art jammed into random mismatched frames, needlepoint pinata, and hundreds upon hundreds of awards.

Avalon, being a huge fan of minimalism, almost physically reeled back because she could barely tell what colour the wall was painted. Was this what… a loving family home looked like inside!?

'We have plenty of space to put you- you can stay in my bed and I'll sleep on the couch…..' Leafos tried to pick up Avalon's bag herself but couldn't budge it.

'Leafos, I'll sleep on the couch,' Avalon said firmly as she watched Leafos in amusement. 'No sense in changing everything up just for this. I'll be out of your hair as soon as my new house is finished anyway.'

'Nonsense!' Leafos grunted as she tried her very hardest to lift Avalon's bag, but it was barely moving. 'You're the guest!'

Avalon snorted and perched on the end of the sofa. 'Tell you what, Leafos,' Avalon raised an eyebrow, 'If you can move that bag to your bedroom, I'll take your bed.'

'It's a deal!' Leafos stuck her hand out to shake, a determined expression on her face.


	2. Chapter 2

Avalon pulled the quilt up to her chin and sighed a very long sigh, stretching out her full length on the squat little couch. This felt like the longest day of her entire life. She had woken up that morning for the last time in her beautiful city apartment, and now she was tucked away in a tiny little village that didn't even have streetlights. For a moment she wondered if this was all a dream and when she woke up in the morning she would still see skyscrapers out her window…

Avalon had hoped to start out working in the garden that day (why else would she have left on the first train out of the city?) but people seemed to move more slowly out here. Avalon felt frustration build as she remembered how Leafos spent an hour chatting with another gardener who had come over for some advice on growing pumpkins.

Then Leafos spent another hour telling Avalon about the Buzzlegums who nested in the tree.

The next hour Leafos told Avalon a story about a funny thing her brother did the other day. Avalon had no context for who this 'Seedos' was, so she just stared wistfully out at the ruined garden.

Leafos seemed to realize the working day was done just as the sun was setting.

'Well, we can always start bright and early tomorrow!' Leafos said as she patted Avalon on the shoulder.

Avalon just managed to keep her mouth shut, ready to tell Leafos that she had been trying to get to the garden ALL DAY. But Leafos genuinely didn't seem to notice what she had been doing.

The house was quiet except for sometimes a small creak from the treetop in the wind. One of the shutters in the kitchen banged a little. Someone in one of the far off rooms was snoring.

Just small night noises.

Avalon quietly admired the feeling of sturdiness that the house exuded. She had grown up in the Pendragonache manor, which had been in her family for generations. It also had a sturdy, timeless feel, but uncomfortably so. This tree was different. It was small and warm and cosy, feeling like it had always been here tucked in under the tree, waiting for the right family to find it. It was like a Badgecicle den, dark and warm and safe. Nothing bad happened in here.

Avalon sighed and curled over onto her side, her eyes heavy but she still wasn't quite ready to drop off to sleep yet. This house was cosy but still an unfamiliar place. She stared at the rows of photos all over the room and she felt like finally she knew what a home should feel like. The whole house was cluttered with expressions of love from people she didn't even know. She felt strange, like she didn't belong here. Even though Leafos overextended herself trying to make Avalon feel like she belonged here...

'Maybe one day I'll be able to live in a house that feels like this,' she thought to herself as she felt herself slip under the heavy blanket of sleep. 'A home of my very own...'

But right as Avalon started to fall asleep, a weird noise she had never heard before slammed into the windows overlooking the garden. She started, knocking her pillow to the ground as she sat up. She paused for a few moments before the noise happened again.

A dull roar of some animal in pain. Avalon knew that noise well and stumbled to the window. Whatever pinata that was, it must have been big…

But the garden was empty, as barren as it had been for the last ten years.

Avalon squinted and leaned forward. The garden may have been empty, but on the other side of the garden there was a dead tree. Avalon assumed it was an empty dead thing, but it had an eerie green glow leaking from the holes in the side. For a moment it looked like a grinning skull and she felt a chill rise in the back of her neck. Something about that acid green glow unsettled her, but she couldn't figure out why. It felt… _wrong_.

The roar sounded again and Avalon flinched back from the window, slamming herself onto the couch and hiding her head under the pillow. She felt like she was ten again, and her brother had locked her in the family crypt. She felt like she had just seen an Arocknid vanish in her room.

As the roar sounded again, Avalon wondered if this was normal.

What type of garden was this...

Avalon woke the next morning to the smell of very strong coffee and the sizzle of something on a stovetop.

Avalon clenched her eyes shut and pretended for a while to still be asleep, but that didn't trick her tired body at all. The more she pretended she was sleeping, the hungrier she got...

'Oh, good morning!' Leafos started a little when Avalon peeked into the kitchen. '... sorry, to be honest but you don't look like you slept well.'

Avalon froze and squinted at Leafos for a few moments before huffing 'I kept hearing weird noises in the garden all night…'

Leafos gave Avalon a once over and pursed her lips in thought. She silently cracked another egg into the pan on the stove and then motioned for Avalon to come into the kitchen.

Avalon hesitantly did so, and startled to see there was somebody already sitting at the table.

When Avalon thought about meeting the greatest gardener on the island, she never imagined it would be at a breakfast table with him still in pajamas. Every child who grew up on the island knew there were very few gardeners who earned the title of 'Legendary Gardener', and Jardiniero himself was the most legendary. He grew every plant and raised every single species of pinata (except one) in his prime.

Now he was a withered man with trembling hands and glasses several inches thick. Resigned to narrate nature documentaries and keeping an eye on budding gardeners in the area.

Avalon paused for several beats too long, staring at this former hero of the island, the gears still turning in her head.

'What, not even been working for a day and already complaining?' Jardiniero huffed as he took a drink of his coffee.

'Uh,' Avalon hovered in the doorway, absolutely unsure of how to deal with this so early in the morning.

'Dad, let Avalon eat her breakfast before you do that thing you always do,' Leafos said without turning around from the stove.

Jardiniero's beard bristled indignantly but he held his tongue. Avalon couldn't make sense of what he was grumbling, and wasn't sure if she WANTED to make sense of it.

Before Avalon could really think about it, she said a little curtly 'It's good to finally meet you! I was wondering if you were just going to keep staring at me through that window.'

She paused, a little mortified at how blunt she sounded. Her eyes quickly darted towards Leafos who, much to her surprise, looked like she was suppressing a giggle.

Jardiniero's expression cycled from offense to indignant as his moustache bristled. Avalon inwardly smirked, he operated the same way as her father...

'How do you take your coffee?' Leafos interjected before Jardiniero could start rumbling.

'Black, please!' Avalon said, awkwardly standing next to the table, unsure of where to sit.

'Easy enough to remember!' Leafos said as she placed the steaming mug in front of the yellow chair with the purple star. Avalon understood that cue and sat down, eager to have a place she could belong in. She paused with the mug in her hands, it had a pattern of frolicking Chewnicorns through a rainbow. Chewnicorns were one of the closest pinata to Horstachios (Avalon's favourite), so Avalon felt...touched...

Jardiniero stared at Avalon while Leafos fried her up her breakfast. Neither he or Avalon said anything (much to Avalon's distress). She could tell that he was sizing her up, but she wasn't sure what to say.

'So what're your plans for the garden today?' Leafos finally broke the tense silence, placing a plate piled high with eggs and bacon in front of her.

'Well, the biggest issue right now is all the junk lying around,' Avalon shrugged as she picked up her fork. 'So I'm going to focus on that before I do anything else. I have to make room for things to grow!'

'That stuff isn't junk-' Jardiniero bristled, but Leafos quickly said:

'Dad, that stuff has been sitting out in all weather for ten years! Sure, we had memories attached to those things but now they need to be cleared away!'

Jardiniero didnt look like he agreed with his daughter, but he huffed quietly. Avalon got the sense that this was a well worn argument between the two of them and quickly started to shovel breakfast in her mouth.

'I expect that will keep you busy for some time,' Jardinero said coldly. 'That's my life's work out there.'

'Oh, it shouldn't take long,' Avalon shot Jardiniero a smug look. 'I brought my best pinata with me. Hemlock is my finest Horstachio, bred for power. I saw an old plough in the back of the barn that I'm keeping him in... once we clear the garden it'll be smooth sailing from there!'

'That's just what you think,' Avalon heard Jardiniero grumble into his coffee, but he didn't push further. Avalon didn't like the way he said that...

'So you like Horstachios?' Leafos asked, sitting in the chair next to Avalon. The chair was green with a happy yellow leaf on it, the colours perfectly matching Leafos' mask.

'Oh, they're the BEST!' Avalon suddenly brightened, full of energy even though she hadn't touched her coffee. 'Everyone in my family tended to gravitate towards a different pinata family... I love equine pinata- though I also think Limeocerouses are lovely too? They're so powerful and a fun shape...' Avalon babbled on, her breakfast entirely forgotten.

Leafos grinned a secret little grin as Avalon made a complete fool of herself with her enthusiasm.

'Well, hopefully before too long you'll have a little Chewnicorn visit!' Leafos beamed at Avalon.

Avalon choked to hear one of her dreams talked about so casually.

'I don't think a Chewnicorn would want to come anywhere near the old garden,' Jardiniero grumbled.

Leafos threw an eggshell at him and it vanished into the tangles of his beard. He muttered darkly as he tried to fish it out, while Leafos beamed and for just a moment, snuck a peek at Avalon to see if she was watching.

Avalon didn't notice, she was lost in her plans to attract a Chewnicorn. Not even her coffee growing cold could stop her. She could finally…

'You really think someone like me could attract a Chewnicorn?' Avalon blurt out, slamming her coffee mug back onto the table. 'Someone who-'

'Oh, absolutely!' Leafos nodded, 'We attracted a whole herd when we were kids! This garden is just perfect for them… and you're already so knowledgable about Horstachios. Chewnicorns are like little fussy Horstachios!'

Jardiniero grumbled something about Chewnicorns being more than just fussy, but Avalon kept staring at that mug on the table. She could have a little bouncing Chewnicorn of her very own...

As soon as breakfast was done, Leafos dragged Avalon out the front door without even first clearing up the dishes from the table.

'Now, I know a city girl like you probably doesn't know the first thing about gardening,' Leafos began as she tugged Avalon over the garden's boundary, marked clearly on the ground by a while chalky line. Avalon felt a little buzz of magic as she stepped over it, like stepping through a cold spot in a room.

'Um, I wasn't actually born in Poprockolis,' Avalon protested. 'I grew up way north of here, out on the moors!'

Leafos paused and just stared at her and Avalon couldn't help staring back for a few awkward moments before saying 'Around Ganachebury?'

Leafos furrowed her brows.

'Crowlagate? Serpenton? Gravenside?' Avalon said a little desperately. She knew her family's manor was very out of the way, but Leafos' expression was a little disheartening. 'Maybe… um, one of the main train lines ends in Northwood, maybe that one?'

Leafos shrugged a little bit and shook her head with a laugh. 'Well, if I don't know any of those places, maybe you're telling the truth… you must come from a village as small as ours, huh?'

'Goodness, no! Ours has at _least_ two pubs to choose from!' Avalon said with a fast little laugh.

'Don't let anyone in town hear you say that; our pub is good enough for several villages!' And then Leafos cleared her throat and stood a little taller. 'But we can talk about the pub more tonight! We have to get through today first. I have a few family 'heirlooms' I can lend you to help with the garden!'

And then Leafos leaned back, putting her full weight into the balls of her feet as she made a gesture in the air, almost as if she were reeling something in on a fishing line. Whatever it was, it didn't want to come. She swore a little under her breath and for a moment Avalon could feel that keen edge of magic welling up from the ground. Just for a moment.

In a flash a blurry object fell into Leafos' hand. It took a few moments to fully materialize, and Avalon got the sense that this object wasn't quite Leafos' to call. It slowly solidified into a shovel that was more hole than shovel, held together with a wish instead of nails.

'Before you say anything, I promise it's more sound than it looks,' Leafos said, suddenly unable to look at the shovel. 'It will serve you well!'

Avalon hesitantly took the shovel from Leafos, suddenly relieved that she brought her sturdiest gloves. The thing looked like it was 50% splinters and tetanus. She held the shovel up and stared at Leafos through one of the bigger holes in the spade. Leafos made eye contact with Avalon for a moment, and a look of quiet mortification flashed across her face. It was so powerful that Avalon had to look away.

Avalon looked up to Leafos pulling a watering can out of thin air. Avalon felt a surge of jealousy for how casually it fell into her hands. What was it like to call out with your magic and get a result so often that you didn't even have to keep your eyes open!?

Avalon barely heard what Leafos said about the watering can. Something about her using it to water her vegetable garden and Avalon can borrow it until she can order a much nicer one. Somehow Leafos felt a million miles away as Avalon felt the familiar feeling of jealousy gnawing at her heart.

Before she realized what she was doing, she tightened her grip on the shovel, put her head down, and headed for the nearest pile of junk sticking out of the cracked earth of the old garden. She had to do _something_ with the anger welling up inside of her...


	3. Chapter 3

'So, how do you suggest I approach this?' Avalon said, kicking over what looked like an old fountain. Half of the base fell off in a shower of dirt and rubble and Avalon reeled back with a cough, 'Because when I signed onto this garden I didn't think demolition was listed.'

Leafos flinched at Avalon's words. 'Well, um. I'm sorry if we weren't entirely truthful…'

Avalon huffed at Leafos, not even moving to look at her. 'All I really wanted to do was grow an apple tree or something…'

'Sorry…' Leafos shrunk back a little, absentmindedly fiddling with her gloves.

Avalon sighed a little and paced around the garden, looking at how much she had to do before she could even START thinking about growing a tree. It looked like a tornado had hit this garden and it was just… left. For how long…?

Avalon leaned down and touched the ground. It was impossibly dry and hard… knocking on it sounded just like knocking on a heavy door. How on earth was she going to change this into soft soil!? It would take magic but…

Avalon heaved a deep, long sigh as she stared first at the pathetic excuse of a shovel, and then back up at the pathetic excuse of a garden. She didn't have the magic it would take to heal this garden, but at least she had the strength to clear it up. The magic part can be an issue for later Avalon, she thought to herself.

And then she started to swing. She first set on what used to be an old Barkbark home, but whoever had built it knew what they were doing and she couldn't get a clean break in anything. So she started to just aimlessly whack it, trying to find any give in the metal and wood. She lost track of time this way, coming out of her trance only when the last bit of roof from the building split apart. Avalon panted and leaned on her shovel, noting with revulsion that even the back of her knees were sweaty.

That's when she got the feeling she was being watched. She whirled around behind her, expecting to see Leafos leaning out of her window watching her. But her house was shut up tight and quiet. This made the hairs on the back of Avalon's neck rise as she got the clear feeling that someone was not only watching her, but judging her.

She quickly swept her gaze across the garden, half expecting to see some other person peeking at her across the rubble. But she didn't see one a single pinata. The garden remained as quiet and empty as a tomb.

Avalon huffed a little and by chance she looked up at the dead oak tree that loomed on the opposite side of the garden from Leafos' tree. And her eyes met another pair glowing in the shade of the tree. They were bright and lopsided and narrowed a bit before vanishing deeper into the darkness.

Avalon scowled and squinted against the bright sunlight, but whoever it was staring at her was gone.

'Hey, Avalon!'

Avalon jumped as one of the windows in Leafos' house clicked open and Leafos hung halfway out the window, waving excitedly at her. Avalon was so startled that all she could think of is wave back halfheartedly.

'I'll have lunch ready for you in a minute!' Leafos called out, 'I hope you like watercress!'

'Uh!' Was all Avalon could say before Leafos ducked back inside. How on earth was Leafos so excited about everything all the time…

Avalon set her jaw and started to walk back to Leafos' house when she heard a weird tinny rattle behind her. She peeked over her shoulder to see the wobbly chimneys sticking out of the dead tree bulge and rattle, and a thick green smoke started pouring out of them. There was something about the way the smoke moved that seemed unnatural, even for magic. They lingered in the air a little too long and felt… ominous. The side of the garden nearest the tree seemed to darken in the shadow of the smoke, and Avalon felt a shiver run down her spine. She walked a little faster to Leafos' house-almost to a trot.

Avalon could feel that pair of glowing eyes drilling a hole in her back and sped up to an almost run. She felt almost as ridiculous as she was unnerved. She was a grown woman and the afternoon sun was shining directly in her eyes and she was safe and someone was waiting for her.

But Avalon still felt...

Strange.

'Avalon, I was talking to my dad and I realized that I still have one more thing I need to give you!' Leafos grinned across the table at Avalon, partly from excitement and partly from the sight of seeing such a distinguished lady with dirt in her hair.

'Huh?' Avalon asked, her mind immediately rushing towards the sad shovel and watering can she had been presented with earlier. She braced herself to be burdened with another awkward present.

'Our family kept a journal about everything we did and saw while working in the garden together!' Leafos said, filled to the brim with excitement. 'It just feels right to have you keep one as well! It was always really nice to sit together and flip through memories… we could always turn back time in there and check what date we planted our turnips, how late the last frost was…'

Avalon immediately felt worried… she hadn't thought ahead for how long she'd keep this garden…

'...I had all my old drawings in there too,' Leafos said, suddenly looking much older than before.

'...Did you lose the journal?' Avalon asked, suddenly pausing and putting her sandwich down.

Leafos looked like she was about to burst into tears and Avalon internally started to panic. She didn't want to see Leafos cry- not here, not now!

But Leafos set her face very deliberately in a neutral expression and forced herself back. She took a deep breath and said 'Yes, but that's something I don't really want to talk about right now.'

Avalon quietly nodded and said 'I don't really draw, do I have to draw in it? I wouldn't mind writing but...'

'You don't draw!?' Leafos seemed grateful for the subject change, and leaned over the table with her fists clenched.

'Well, I did as a child but-'

'But you forgot how to,' Leafos said, pointing at Avalon.

'All kids draw, Leafos!' Avalon protested, and Leafos crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.

'Then why'd you stop?' Leafos challenged, not looking convinced at all.

'Because life happened!' Avalon grumbled and picked up her sandwich. 'Look, I came inside to eat, not argue over hobbies.'

'Journaling is not a hobby, it's a lifestyle!' Leafos said with her voice pitching up a little. 'My family's lifestyle!'

This is when Avalon realized that this argument wasn't really about her. This must be something about the missing journal.

Avalon chose her next words carefully.

'Is journaling another requirement to owning the garden that you just happened to forget to mention in the advertisement?'

Leafos started back with a little shock. Avalon instantly felt a little bad, but she was tired, hungry, feeling more than a bit cheated with how much work this place needed to even begin, and now Leafos was dangling yet another hoop for Avalon to jump through to even garden in the first place!

'Well- no, that's not how this is at all!' Leafos shrunk back, her sandwich still untouched.

'Then I don't particularly want to keep a journal,' Avalon said around another bite of her food. 'I came here to garden and forget, not to garden and remember everything,' Avalon found herself quickly wanting to be anywhere else but here. She wolfed down the rest of her sandwich and stood up quickly. 'Now if you'll excuse me, I have to continue clearing up.'

That came out a little snappier than Avalon intended, but she didn't stick around to watch Leafos' expression fall.

Avalon stomped through the house, pulled her boots on at the door, and opened the heavy front door to let herself outside. She stomped to the end of the garden, then stomped into the very middle and stood with her hands on her hips.

She couldn't quite put a finger on why what Leafos did made her so angry, but the thought sustained her enough to break down two pinata houses and half of an old fountain by the time the sun slipped behind the village. By that time Avalon felt covered in a sheen of sweat like a Lickatoad, covered head to toe in grit and old dust, and extremely sore.

Leafos called Avalon in for dinner, the doorway casting light into the gloom of twilight and Avalon shuffled in like an elderly dog. She managed to shrug off her boots, drop the shovel in an old umbrella stand, and dragged her way to the table.

A plate of food immediately appeared in front of Avalon and before she knew it, she ploughed through it much like she planned to have her horses plough the land as soon as she had it cleared.

'There's enough for seconds,' Leafos said, cautiously sitting down in the chair in front of Avalon. 'You look like you need it.'

Avalon grunted as she swallowed her mouthful. 'It was such a long day…' and after a moment sat up a little straighter. 'And I didn't see a single pinata to cheer me up.'

'Didn't you see the Vulchurro circling above you?' Leafos said, raising a mischievous eyebrow at Avalon.

Avalon stared a stony stare at Leafos for a few moments, just long enough for Leafos to begin to worry if she had overstepped...

Avalon broke into a thin smile and replied 'What, do you think I looked like I was dying out there?'

The smile was all Leafos needed. She leaned in with a giggle and said in a mockery of Avalon's highborn accent, 'You had dirt smeared on your cheek all the way up to your hair! I can't imagine such a distinguished woman allowing herself to be seen in such a disarray! What would society say!'

Avalon managed to scowl at Leafos for all of three seconds before bursting out into such a hearty laugh that it set Leafos as well, and the two were were able to stop laughing only after their food had grown cold.


	4. Chilly Promise

Avalon felt just about ready to fall asleep at the table and land facedown onto her empty plate when Leafos grinned at Avalon and laughed 'I hope you find your second wind, because tonight is game night at the inn!'

'_Please_ don't make me be social,' Avalon groaned and rubbed her face. 'All I want to do is take a warm bath and sleep for twelve hours after trying to haul away that old junk from the garden.'

'Oh come on, Avalon, it'll be fun! Everyone in the village has been asking about you, and this would be the perfect opportunity to meet them when they aren't having to deal with running their shops!' Leafos was practically bouncing in her chair.

'Leafos, the last thing I want to do is be bad at party games with strangers because I'm exhausted,' Avalon huffed, filling with dread.

And that's just what Avalon found herself doing an hour later.

'We can go home as soon as you meet everyone, I promise!' Leafos said as she opened the door to the inn for Avalon. 'Just stick it out for a little while!'

Avalon paused as she stared into the little sliver of light in the gloom, hearing clinks of glassware and a dull rumble of many different voices inside. She looked back over her shoulder at her garden, small and quiet and dark in the distance. Avalon found herself wishing that she could just pull the earth of her garden over her body and rest for a year.

Leafos cleared her throat and waggled the open door in her hands a few times.

Avalon glared at Leafos as she walked in and whispered: 'I'll believe that when it actually happens...'

'Hey, everyone, look who finally left her garden!' Leafos called out at the top of her lungs as she pushed Avalon forward into the room. 'This is Avalon!'

'_I'm going to kill Leafos_,' Thought Avalon as every single human being in the crowded room froze and gave her their full attention.

Avalon could feel herself shrink a few inches as most of the people in the room bellowed a 'Hullo, Avalon!' in messy unison.

'_I'm definitely going to kill Leafos_,' Avalon thought to herself as she frowned and waved to the crowded room.

Things became a blur of meetings as Leafos dragged Avalon by the arm to meet the various people in the inn. First was the local tinker, Bart, who awkwardly jumped out of his chair and doffed his hat at Avalon. He quickly offered his magical services as a tinker and his hand.

'Are you familiar by any chance with the art of tinkering?' Bart said as they shook, looking Avalon up and down. Avalon felt her body tense up when she realized it wasn't her physical form he was judging.

Avalon found herself blurting out, 'I can't tinker myself, but my Uncle Merlin's a really good tinker!'

Bart's grip on her hand tightened and he exclaimed in a booming voice 'M-Merlin? You mean to say you're related to perhaps the greatest tinker on this whole island!?'

'Is my weird uncle that important!?' Avalon said with a weak smile, but continued shaking Bart's hand.

'Important!?' Bart clearly had forgotten that they were still shaking hands, pumping Avalon's arm up and down so forcefully that a weaker person would have lost their limb. 'My dear, his tinkering discoveries have changed the way every tinker approaches magic! The Sleeping Dragonache stance revolutionized the way that tinkers could affect terrain, and his philosophical questions on what it really is to trigger that type of change in a mundane object? Changed my life, and it takes a certain type of genius to try to tinker-'

'Bart, Avalon needs that arm to garden,' Leafos said gently, putting a hand over his arm. He startled and quickly pulled back.

'My apologies...' he muttered, quickly crossing his arms. He clearly didn't take his rambles interrupted well.

Avalon also crossed her arms when she realized Bart was sizing her up in a peculiar way. She felt the keen edge of anxiety pulling at her heart... Bart seemed a very capable magic user so that meant he was sizing up her magical ability.

Or in Avalon's case, lack of magic ability.

Avalon was raised in a household without magic, an absolute oddity on the island. Her parents feared magic and prevented her and her brother from learning any, going so far as to banning any of the helpers under their employment from using the simplest spells.

Avalon's Uncle Merlin had tried sneaking her spellbooks and artifacts, but without any advice on how to operate them... she couldn't even start the most basic spell.

And on an island where even the smallest flower burst with magical power...

... Avalon was an outsider.

'I see the tinkering ability skipped a generation,' said Bart with a flash of disappointment in his eyes. Avalon suddenly found the ground very interesting.

He knew. He knew and he pitied her.

Avalon frowned at Bart and huffed 'I never got the opportunity to accept lessons,' and quickly turned and introduced herself to one of the many helpers who had crowded around her. Bart turned to Leafos at his side and gave her a baffled look, and she returned it with twice the intensity.

Avalon quickly got overwhelmed by all the helpers pelting her with questions. No, she didn't need produce picked up. No, she wasn't having trouble with weeds. She absolutely didn't need help mining!

Leafos swooped in to Avalon's rescue, folding her arm into hers and tugging her away across the room to a table by the window. 'Avalon, have you met Patch yet?'

The village doctor started when he noticed the two approaching him, and almost knocked his drink over as he leapt to his feet and adjusted his helmet-like mask.

'Err, h-hi there,' he said, extending a very limp and nervous handshake. Avalon was momentarily distracted by how white and perfect his teeth were before shaking it off.

'I'm uh… Puh-Puh Patch, or, uh… Doc P-Patchingo, but everyone calls me Patch! Or 'Doctor'! Or…. 'hey you'!' Patch laughed a tiny little laugh as if he had just said an inside joke and shook his head. His hair parted to almost show one of his eyes and Avalon felt her heart jump a little bit at the anticipation. 'I-I don't mind what you call me!'

'Just call him Patch,' Leafos leaned in a little and nodded at Avalon. 'He's off the clock right now.'

'Hopefully we won't have to see each other too much, Patch,' Avalon said dryly as she took a seat across the table from him. Leafos quietly sat in the empty chair beside her, close enough for their legs to almost touch. 'I've been taking care of animals all my life!'

'Don't get too confident, Avalon,' Leafos chided, tapping her on the gloved hand. 'You DO live right by Dastardos.'

At the mention of the reaper's name, Patch stiffened and almost knocked his drink over. 'O-oh, I'm s-so sorry...' Patch mumbled to the tabletop. 'I-I wouldn't err wish that on… anyone…'

Avalon stared at Patch for a moment before blurting out '…..who's Dastardos?'

Patch immediately knocked his drink completely over and the glass shattered into 90234592348905 pieces on the floor with a great splintering sound.

The dull roar of the pub immediately quieted and Avalon felt the eyes of every person in the pub staring at their table.

'S-Sorry!' Patch called out, raising his arm and waving a little bit.

And then the noise started up again as everyone realized, _oh, it's just Patch knocking something over again_. Someone near the bar laughed a little too loudly and Patch flinched again, withdrawing into his monkey helmet like a startled Cherrapin.

A large figure quickly loomed out of the dark and placed a near identical drink on the table in front of Patch.

'Oh, hello, Arfur!' Leafos said in a voice a little too loudly. Both Patch and Avalon sat up straight, like schoolkids trying to hide something from the teacher.

'First spill of the night?' The towering man laughed. Avalon couldn't help but stare at his mask, which seemed to be an entire, full sized barrel. She had grown up with the abnormally tall men of her family but even this man gave her pause.

'Y-Y-You don't have to!' Patch hiccuped, gesturing wildly with his hands. 'I-I'll pay for the guh-glass too!'

Arfur very solidly ignored Patch and offered Avalon a hand that covered her entire hand as they shook. 'I was waiting for an opportunity to introduce myself to the new gardener! I'm Arfur, and I run this business! But you know, I don't just sell drinks… tell me, have you noticed something about this place?'

Avalon's eyes flickered across the room and she quickly noticed that the pub wasn't filled with gardeners or just random townsfolk. There were a few travelers here and there but the majority of bodies were people who went from garden to garden, offering their specific talents and skills for a steady wage.

'I see by your expression you've noticed! There aren't as many gardens around here as there used to be, so there's plenty of empty coin purses around here! If that old cursed garden of yours ends up being too much for just one person, you let old Arfur know!'

Avalon paused a few moments before letting Arfur's hand go. She stuck her chin out and kept as direct a stare as she could with that odd mask as she said firmly: 'I can handle it on my own.'

Avalon was too busy to notice that Leafos flinched when Arfur said the word 'cursed'.

Arfur boomed a laugh that shook the rafters and made the dull roar of the pub quiet for a moment. 'I'm sure you can, but just in case…' He winked one eye and patted Avalon on the shoulder before wading back towards the bar through the sea of helpers. Every person he passed seemed just as desperate as the other for his attention.

Avalon stared back at his retreating form and let out a deep, growly sigh. She wasn't sure what part of his condescension she hated most. She knew that villagers would instantly decide that since she lived in the city, she knew next to nothing about gardening. They might even have a betting pool based on how long she would be able to endure village life!

Avalon fumed quietly for a few moments as Patch and Leafos made sure nobody else was in earshot before leaning back in as if they were all sharing a secret.

'Leafos,' Patch hissed, pouting at her. 'You haven't told her about Dastardos?' His hand gripped his newly delivered drink so tightly that both shook.

Leafos immediately turned bright red and found a stain on the table more interesting than Patch's face. 'It just never…. came up!'

Patch frowned at Leafos for a few moments, looking more like a kicked puppy than anything. 'I-I guess I'm the best person to i-in-inform you, Avalon… seeing as D-D-Dastardos and I have… opposite jobs.'

Avalon stared at him and gave a hesitant little nod, trying to encourage him to continue. He seemed like he needed it.

Patch shuffled into a more comfortable sitting position and took a moment to collect his thoughts. Leafos and Avalon leaned in a little.

He paused a little more before taking a sharp intake of breath and blurting out with such sudden passion that both Leafos and Avalon jumped a little in their seats!

'I came to this Island to err… heal sick animals.' Patch leaned forward and stared directly at Avalon. 'I thought Island life here would be easy, b-but I didn't count on someone fighting me at every turn!'

'Dastardos also 'takes care' of sick pinata,' Leafos interrupted, Patch looking grateful for the help. 'But while Patch actually wants them to get better…' Leafos made eye contact with Avalon and punched the table with a fist, making both Avalon and Patch flinch.

Avalon gulped.

'He loves smashing open piñata and stealing their sweets,' Leafos said shaking her head.

'A-And there's no way to stop him o-once he's decided to pay you a visit,' Patch chimed in with a decidedly tense grin. 'He's… not…' Patch paused, looking like he was trying to decide if he should say something or not. After a few moments deliberation he simply said 'He's not normal.'

'The best defense against him is to just not have any sick pinata!' Leafos said with a nod.

Avalon frowned at the both of them, trying to understand the information they had just dumped on her. 'So you're saying that my neighbor is keeping an eye on my garden and the moment one of my pinatas gets sick he's going to trespass and smash it to steal its candy?'

Patch and Leafos nodded furiously.

'And what does he do with that candy?' Avalon asked.

'We don't know!' Leafos said with a frown. Patch remained silent and took a sip of his drink instead of answering.

Avalon sat back in her chair, twisting her hands together under the table. Both Patch and Leafos looked haunted, that's for sure. Why hadn't someone warned her that her neighbor was like this!? Why hadn't Leafos…

'Wait a second!' Avalon said, looking around the room for something to draw on, until her gaze moved to Leafos. 'Um! Leafos! Can you bring out something for me to draw with?'

Leafos' eyebrows crinkled for a moment before she waved her hands around in a few practiced gestures and some loose sheets of paper and a pen dropped onto the table. Avalon snatched them up and in a frenzy drew those glowing lopsided eyes she saw peeking out at her from that twisted old oak tree.

'Do you think that was him!?' Avalon pushed the paper at the two of them.

Patch' complexion paled and Leafos bit her lip as they both looked up at Avalon and nodded.

'Thu-That means he's already noticed you…' Patch said, sliding down a little in his chair, his helmet-like mask bumping against the table.

'Well, I haven't exactly been as quiet as a Mousemallow,' Avalon huffed, 'But thank you guys for warning me about him, I'll have to… keep an extra eye on my animals… whenever I get my garden into a better state…'

'C-Call me the instant you notice one of your pinatas looks a little, err… off-colour,' Patch beamed at Avalon, giving her a grin as bright and perfect as the sun, 'Like Leafos said, I haven't lost a p-p-piña...err, patient yet!'

Avalon opened her mouth to ask what exactly she should be on the lookout for, but a yawn popped out instead of words.

Patch and Leafos immediately leaned forward and said at the same time:

'Y-You should rest!'

'Looks like it's bedtime for Avalon!'

Avalon protested weakly but all this talk about her creepy neighbor had completely ruined her mood for socializing. Everyone in the inn waved goodbye to Avalon and shouted the date for the next big games night as Leafos pushed her back out the door.

They chatted quietly as they walked in pace with each other. Thankfully Leafos' house was visible from the pub.

Her other neighbor's house was also visible, and Avalon couldn't help but notice thick smoke pouring out of the rickety chimneys. All the twisted holes in the tree were backlit by a steady green glow and Avalon couldn't suppress a shiver.

'Don't focus on it!' Leafos poked Avalon in the side, 'Just imagine your nice warm bed! No sour's going to get you in my house!'

Avalon didn't have the heart to tell Leafos that she didn't think the walls of her tree house would stop someone like him.

So Avalon found herself saying 'Not if you're going to talk them to death!'

Leafos barked a laugh and Avalon found herself pulled a little closer. 'Is that really what you think of me!? I talk so much I suck all the air out of the room, is that what you think!?'

'What if it is!?' Avalon shrieked a laugh that was a little too loud, startling a dark little animal from sniffing around the border of the garden. It dashed into the dark of the jungle before either woman could notice.

'You're just like the rest of them!' Leafos huffed as she opened the front door of her house with a wrist flick and a little burst of magic. 'Too quiet and serious!' She huffed even louder as she tugged Avalon inside. Avalon quickly shut the door with her foot before Leafos could use her magic again.

'Who's too quiet and serious?' Avalon asked as Leafos went around the house, flicking on the lights.

'Oh,' Leafos said from the living room.

'Nobody,' she said from the hallway.

Doesn't sound like 'nobody',' said Avalon as she pulled her boots off her tired feet and tucked them in the right spot near the door.

'Nobody you'd know,' Leafos said from the kitchen. 'Forget I said anything, I'm just tired.'

'You're tired!?' It was Avalon's turn to sound frustrated. 'I bet watching me work from the window was exhausting.'

'That's not what I meant,' Leafos emerged from the kitchen holding a big glass of water. 'And you know that! Look, you earned a nice long rest, I'll make you breakfast in the morning.'

For just a moment Avalon felt the desire to be contrary but then the whole day caught up with her. As she took the glass she suddenly remembered how heavy her arms felt, the developing blisters on her hands, and the thin line of grime developing on her face.

Leafos pushed Avalon back onto the couch with very little resistance. She carefully tucked Avalon under the heavy quilt and watched as the taller woman slowly lost her battle with sleep.

'Can there be toast and jam?' Avalon mumbled as she rolled over onto one side as well as the pointy ears on her mask allowed.

Leafos just barely resisted the urge to pat Avalon's head. 'Is strawberry OK?'

'Blackberry is better…' was the last thing Avalon mumbled.

Leafos heaved a sigh and stood up, walking over to the mantle and picking up a small photo. 'Not quite the same…' she breathed to herself as she gently placed the photo back.

She quietly turned off the lights and after a few moment's pause, closed all the curtains so the house was quiet and secure.

On the other side of the garden, the eerily twisted tree continued to belch strange-coloured smoke that covered the moon.


	5. Secrets in the Sand

The next two days passed by in an exhausting blur. Avalon, usually an early riser, found herself sleeping later and later. Her body (while strong) was completely unused to the amount of effort required to dismantle and haul away a garden full of someone else's lifework. Muscles she didn't even know she had ached, and she woke up cranky and hungry every morning.

But Avalon grew to almost enjoy the task, letting herself zone out while she got to use her full strength to work some anger out. Sometimes she would find herself pausing as she gathered up weird things to the skip sitting at the end of the garden.

Why were there frying pans just… scattered through the garden?

The Cluckles House she pulled apart looked like it had been patched time and time again, oddly shaped and painted bits of wood standing out from the rest of it. This family must have had this up a long time. What caused it to be upside-down and half buried, like some ancient temple?

There were several fountains… who in the family really liked water?

Avalon rolled a dusty and deflated tire out of a small pit in the corner of the garden. As it pulled away from its decade-old spot, Avalon's foot scuffed something from the soil that normally had no give. Avalon carefully crouched down and gently brushed the dirt from a very worn and sunbleached piece of paper. She gently tugged and pulled at the dirt and was rewarded with a page of hand-drawn pinata and some people.

Avalon blew some dust from it as she squinted to read the worn words.

'Today Stardos almost…' the page was torn here, but a simple drawing of a person she didn't recognize stared up at her with a blank smile. The rest of the page was filled with high level pinatas dancing around this person with a blue scarf. '...maybe tomorrow the Chewnicorn will come back!'

Avalon stared down at the page, feeling suddenly very queer. These were very clearly Leafos' drawings-from a long time ago. These were the drawings of a child (they were very impressive), of someone she didn't know, and a pinata she had only been able to dream about.

What was this doing under old junk?

Avalon found herself rushing towards the house with the page carefully held in her gloved hands. She burst into the house, completely startling Leafos from the book she was reading at the kitchen table.

'Is this from your lost journal?' Avalon asked, sliding the paper in front of Leafos.

Leafos immediately went from bewildered to tears in her eyes as she registered exactly what she was seeing.

'Where did you find this!?' Leafos demanded as she shakily reached out to hold the old paper. 'Was this out in the garden!?'

Avalon explained she had found it under some old junk as Leafos unashamedly started weeping. For a moment Avalon was impressed with how Leafos could break down with no reservations, pausing in her explanation to put a hand on Leafos' shoulder.

'I thought… I thought it all had gone…' Leafos choked out between sobs. 'And it's a page with _him_ on it and everything…'

Leafos quickly surged up and wrapped her arms around Avalon before collapsing weeping around a multitude of thanks. Avalon found herself staring at the page, feeling queer again as Leafos was so close and _so_ upset. She had no idea what to do besides stare at this drawing of a person who looked like Leafos.

Avalon desperately wanted to ask who this Stardos was, but this didn't feel like the right time.

Leafos took another minute to sob into Avalon's shoulder before breaking loose and scampering away, calling for her father. Avalon could hear hushed voices and felt Leafos' tears on her neck and got the distinct feeling that she shouldn't be around for this.

She winced at the dirty boot tracks she had tracked through the house and mentally said sorry to Leafos as she went back to work in the garden.

The rest of the day Avalon kept expecting to find old journal pages under the old garden decorations, but it seemed like she had found the only one. Leafos called for Avalon to come back just as the sun started slipping past the mountains on the horizon, plunging the garden into a dark purple shadow.

Leafos seemed much more friendly this time, holding onto Avalon's arm as she pulled off her boots at the door one by one.

'So who's Stardos?' Avalon asked, and Jardiniero and Leafos both simultaneously choked on their food. They both made sheepish eye contact with each other before Jardiniero cleared his throat.

'My eldest,' He said through his beard with a tone of finality.

Avalon paused. She thought Leafos was the oldest child. She had been told of Leafos' two other siblings (who hadn't even visited the garden yet), but there was no hint of another.

'And where is he?' Avalon leaned forward.

Leafos choked up a little. 'Somewhere.'

Jardiniero huffed, 'Gone.'

They both turned to glare at each other and Avalon got the sense this was an age old argument. Both of them had tensed up and looked about ready to run.

'... So he's not here anymore?' Avalon tried to ask delicately, but that still made Leafos flinch.

'Obviously,' She said, gripping her bowl tight, hunching over it defensively.

Avalon's mind burned with a thousand questions. If he's not here, where is he? Wouldn't he have inherited the garden? And not her, just some stranger who answered an advert in the newspaper?

Avalon let those questions go for now with a sigh and settled back in her chair. Leafos and Jardiniero watched her wearily, preparing themselves for the inevitable onslaught of questions. But Avalon knew better, if she asked them now, the answers would be quick and guarded. Even worse, the questions would damage Leafos in this current state.

'There's enough for seconds, right?' Avalon asked with a flash of a smile, completely disarming Leafos. Her eyes grew big and she scrambled for a thing to say.

'Y-yeah! I figured since you were working hard all day…'

Jardiniero stared impassively at the both of them before returning to his own meal.

The next few days blurred together for Avalon. Rising with the sun, eating a hearty breakfast, and slowly but surely clearing the garden. In no time at all the magic of the island bled back into the plot of land. If Avalon focused she could almost feel it, but it felt just outside her grasp. She used her prize Horstachio to plow the soil that was 'hard as concrete' as Jardiniero called it.

'Now that's clever,' Leafos mused.

'Hemlock's a prize winning racer,' Avalon huffed as she fussed over his dark mane, 'my dad would be so cross if he saw him reduced to heavy labor...'

'... which is why you're doing it, right?' Leafos gave Avalon a big grin, which she instantly returned.

Once the garden was tilled and the land was covered once again in dark, moist earth, magic began happening. Leafos called Avalon in for lunch and when they returned outside, the land was already half covered in a thin layer of grass.

'That's more like it,' Leafos cheered, delighted that her old family's plot of land remembered what it was like to live.

Avalon just stared, watching the grass slowly carpet the earth.

Another pair of eyes watched as well, a secret pair of glowing eyes. They narrowed for a moment and vanished back into the dark.

Leafos called for her father who twitched the curtains open from his little workshop. He stared blankly at the garden before the curtains fell back into place.

'I promise he's impressed,' Leafos said, patting Avalon on the back. 'He's just…'

'It's hard for him to watch, I know,' Avalon said, unable to peel her eyes away from the garden that now LOOKED like it was ready to become a garden. 'This'll never be the same as when your family worked on it, but I'm ready to try my best!'

Leafos beamed at Avalon for a few moments before startling. 'Oh! I have a gift for you for just this occasion! Don't move, I'll be right back!' Leafos scampered back inside and Avalon turned back to the garden.

The rickety chimneys in the dead tree across the garden started rattling and belched thick, dark red smoke up over the garden ominously. Avalon felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise up because yet again, this _Dastardos_ was watching her. So many people in the village were eager to introduce themselves to her, so why was this person so intent on hiding from her?

Avalon felt like she was having a staring contest with the invisible inhabitant of that tree. She couldn't see anything in the inky blackness but she felt somewhere inside _someone_ was staring at her with malice in their heart.

If she looked hard enough, she could almost see a pair of glowing eyes staring-

'Here it is!' Leafos suddenly put a hand on Avalon's shoulder and Avalon shrieked, jumping a foot in the air and whirling about with wide eyes. Leafos stood frozen in place, clutching a large book to her chest and looking very nearly like she wanted to run as well. Avalon panicked a little and placed both hands on Leafos' shoulders and blurted out:

'I'm sorry, you just scared me!'

Leafos froze for a few moments before following Avalon's eyes across the garden towards the dead tree. Almost on cue, the smoke tapered off the chimneys.

'...I see,' Leafos said with a nod. 'Don't worry, I'm always jumpy too when I know _he's_ watching. But look, let me take your mind off that!' And shoved the book into Avalon's arms. 'I made you your very own journal!'

Avalon took a few moments to silently admire the object Leafos had handmade for her. She tried her hardest to forget all about the person staring at her back.

The little book was roughly bound so the pages were a little wonky and uneven, but the cover was very sturdy and the whole thing had a nice weight in her hands. And even though she could barely sense it, there was a little residue of a magic spell over the whole thing.

'I know we had a… disagreement about using one but I still think… I mean, you don't have to exactly _use_ it but…'

'Leafos, I… I don't know what to say!' Avalon said as she flipped the journal over and felt the tooth of the pages.

'A 'thank you' would be a good start!' Leafos said with a big, unapologetic grin.

Avalon snorted a laugh and stared at Leafos for a few moments before going 'It's really hard for me to accept-'

'Avalon, I WILL keep giving this to you if you refuse,' Leafos said, pushing the journal more into Avalon's hands. 'Look, it just feels wrong to me if you work in our old garden without a journal.'

'Fine, fine, if it gets you off my back!' Avalon huffed weakly. 'Maybe I should put you to work using it instead…'

Leafos ignored that second bit.

'Look, let me show you how it works,' Leafos said, sitting next to Avalon and pulling the journal into her own lap. 'My parents helped me make our family journal and I really liked how we set it up…' She motioned to the spinner on the cover of the page. 'We set it up into sections… things that happened each day, pinata awards, people we knew…' She spun the dial with each subject. 'And look-' The journal popped open to a page labeled 'Villagers'- '-the journal already knows where to go!'

Avalon felt her mouth pop open in awe. This was really and truly magic and… not only that, but it felt like magic she could actually USE…

'I promise this isn't overkill,' Leafos said, handing the journal back to Avalon. For a brief moment, their gloved hands touched. 'Everything is happening slowly now, but before you know it, you'll be glad you kept a log of everything you did.'

Leafos paused and her eyes grew misty. 'You know, Dad said that about his life. He was glad he wrote about all the good times before...'

'Before that thing happened,' Avalon finished Leafos' sentence for her. Leafos stared at her face and nodded.

'I promise… we'll tell you more about what happened. It's just,' Leafos swallowed and choked out, '_hard.._.'

Avalon leaned in and placed a hand on Leafos' shoulder and said firmly 'You can tell me when you're ready.'

Externally Avalon seemed quiet and confident but internally she was burning with a hundred thousand questions.

Who was Stardos?

Why did they have to trick someone into taking over the garden?

How did the island's greatest island get reduced to shambles?

Then Leafos leaned a little bit into Avalon's hand and she completely forgot what she was worrying about.


End file.
